TD Cowen Cuts Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target to $220.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price target cut by TD Cowen from $225.00 to $220.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a buy rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.48.

Applied Materials Stock Down 5.3%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $165.57 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.49. The company has a market cap of $134.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, research analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $1,588,422,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $1,085,600,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2,401.0% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,066,817 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $445,056,000 after buying an additional 2,944,193 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 18,402.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,824,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,647,430,000 after buying an additional 1,814,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 43.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,573,673 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $808,853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,691,428 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.